Gifts, acts of kindness, physical touch, affirmations, and quality times. These 5 things differ for each person in how much is given based on how much they received from their parents.  I beg to differ.
Growing up, I didn't receive much affection. I didn't receive gifts, except for Christmas or my birthday. Toys were not part of my childhood. I've never owned a video game or gotten a gift just because they felt like giving me one. I didn't receive much acts of kindness. I was mainly yelled at for not being good enough, and rarely got hugs or kisses. Physical touch wasn't a big part of my childhood either. They were always busy doing other things. I RARELY got any affirmation at all. A's weren't good enough . They always compared me to other people, how other children got A+ & I came home with a measly A. They always said that I wasn't trying hard enough when I was. I barely got any quality time either. They didn't sit down and read a book to me. Instead, they shoved me in academy for 10 years because education is more important than love.
Instead of being a bitter, anti-social person, I try to make up for the lack of all of the above by giving them out. I try to buy gifts for people that matter in my life because I want them to feel appreciated. I try to be there for my friends to show that I'm always going to be there for them no matter what. I hug people that make me happy so I can show how much they mean to me. I always try to comfort and support my friends when they're down so they know that someone's always going to be their for them. & I try to hang out with my friends when they're lonely so they know that no matter what, I'm always there.
Why do I do this? I guess I feel a sense of completion, that making up for what I lacked would give me a sense of closure. I spend my day trying to be a good friend; whether its helping someone with a problem or beating someone up that is a problem. I guess I just don't want people to go through the pain I went through; not being able to talk to the people that supposedly matter the most, not having any support in anything you do, being treated like some kind of experiment to control every aspect of, not having a voice in anything that happens, not having someone to give advice, and most importantly having a shoulder to cry on.
People think my life is good. Financially, it is. But socially, family wise? It's far from it. My family doesn't communicate. Sure, my parents are nice. They treat my friends out to eat or act all parent-y around them. But once they leave, it's back to living with strangers. We don't talk when we eat. It's silent. We don't know what goes on in anyone else's day because frankly, no one cares. This family is really detached. I don't even know what my parents did for a living because they never talked about it. My dad recently lost his job, and instead of hugging us & telling us it was going to be okay, he sat us down like employees & said he lost his job then walked off. I'm surprised I'm even socially okay. One would expect me to be some crazy senile person. I guess I hung out with the right people, even though they made wrong decisions. They helped me realize that I'm actually a person, not some robot forced to study day & night. They showed me affection, something that I longed for for years. & it's my turn to give back.